Jakarta, Dec. 12 -- The Indonesian government says it might follow suit after Australia's recent decision to ban social media use for children under 16.

Mental Health Director Imran Pambudi of the Health Ministry said the government might assess whether imposing such a ban was necessary, but said this would not happen overnight.

"It takes at least three years [before implementation]," he told a discussion on Friday, as quoted by Katadata.co.id, noting that parents were currently responsible for monitoring their children's social media use.

Children's mental health has become a focus in recent years.

In 2023, the Indonesia National Adolescent Mental Health Survey (I-NAMHS) found that 34.9 percent of the country's teenagers, or around 1...